


Peanut Butter Brownies

by Fredwrites



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Brief mention of someone having an allergic reaction, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 08:10:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12677895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fredwrites/pseuds/Fredwrites
Summary: Like most times Nadiya tries to make friends, everything goes a bit pear shaped





	Peanut Butter Brownies

Nadiya was very good at science. She knew this, and had known it for a long time. She wasn't modest about it either. In fact, Nadiya was one of the most intelligent people she knew of, and she wasn't apologetic about the fact. However, whilst there were few problems she couldn't solve, human beings were a total mystery to her. 

Remy had been nudging her in a more social direction for weeks now. It was a lot easier said than done. Nadiya liked the order and sensibilities of science. There was always something linking one subject to another. Everything worked out like a perfect puzzle. People were so painfully different. Just when Nadiya thought she had found a piece that might fit, she ended up being so far off the mark she wondered why she'd even bothered in the first place. 

It felt like she was stuck in place. Nadiya found herself stumbling around in the dark without a lamp. She told herself that she didn't care, but deep down she knew otherwise. Whenever she couldn't work something out, she beat herself up over it for hours on end, and this whole "friendship" thing was absolutely killing Nadiya. So she went to Remy for help. 

One of the people Nadiya was around the most was Irene. She was a constant in her life now, whether she liked it or not. It made sense to begin bonding with her and work upwards from there. Kardala was a larger goal to tackle - Nadiya drew up a chart and pinned it on a cork board in her room. 

"Remy, I was wondering..." Nadiya watched her colleague from her laptop, her fingers hovering hovering over the keys. Remy looked up from his phone. "If I were to...engage in a friendship with Irene, how would I go about it?"

At the mention of Irene, Remy began to beam, seemingly delighted. "Hey, nice! Glad you're deciding to get out there and try to...interact with other people." He leaned forward, in Nadiya's direction. She resisted the urge to place her hand on his forehead and push him backwards. "Wellll, there's a bunch of stuff you could do. Think about it - what do you know she likes?"

Nadiya furrowed her brow. Irene liked people. She liked Dad Rock, she liked to wear cardigans and novelty ties, and she liked to watch cute animal videos when she thought no one was watching (a trait she shared with Kardala.) She also seemed to have a sweet tooth. If she wasn't eating some kind of cake or muesli bar, there was a wrapper nearby. 

Unfortunately, Nadiya didn't like people very much at all, Dad Rock got on her nerves, novelty ties made her eyes hurt and she didn't want people to know that she spent plenty of her own time watching cute animal videos when no one else was watching. But baking - baking was a possibility. Nadiya had a bit of a soft spot for baking. It was a methodical, measured form of cooking that required rules and units. It was scientific and that was her speciality. 

With some help from Remy, Nadiya picked and made a suitable recipe- peanut butter brownies. Each had an identical amount of peanut butter in them and each one was precisely 2.5 by 3 inches. By the end of the day, Nadiya's kitchen smelt of chocolate and peanuts and she felt more contented than she had in a long time. Remy had somehow managed to get flour all over himself and the walls and ceiling. Despite this, Nadiya couldn't bring herself to be angry, and instead gave Remy a brownie and said goodbye as he left. 

She found herself growing nervous as the night approached, knowing that the next day she would have to give Irene the pastry. What if she didn't want to eat it? Or what if she thought it tasted bad? Worst of all, what if she liked it, and Nadiya had to put even more effort into this whole friendship thing? She wondered if this was how all people with friends thought. If so, she couldn't imagine how they hadn't all suffered from stress - induced heart attacks. 

Eventually, the dreaded hour came. Nadiya spotted Irene at work at their break. She had kept the small tupperware box with her all day, just in case. She started from her seat as soon as her colleague entered the room. Irene, unfortunately, noticed and gave Nadiya a pleasantly surprised smile. 

"Hey, Nadiya! You doin' alright?" she said, in her typical kindly tone.

"Yes," Nadiya blurted, and immediately cursed herself for her own awkwardness. "Yes, I'm just fine, Irene."

"Glad to hear it!" Irene's attention drifted to what Nadiya was holding. "I don't mean to be intrusive but whatcha got there?"

Nadiya saw her opportunity and seized it. "Actually, they - they're for you. I baked them yesterday. Specifically with you in mind."

Irene stared at her for a moment, before her eyes lit up and her mouth bloomed into a grin that made her cheeks dimple. Nadiya had made her...happy?

"Oh, thank you so much Nadiya!" she said, taking a brownie as Nadiya offered her one. "It means so much, I mean...especially coming from you." She breathed in the smell of the cake, and through her joy, Nadiya spotted apprehension.

"Is it bad? Defective? Do I need to make another?"

"No, it's fine. Really, Nadiya." Irene offered her a smile before biting into the brownie and exclaiming in delight. "It's great! You did such an awesome job. Really, I don't think I've...ever recieved such a thoughtful gift."

Something inside of Nadiya felt warm and like it was full of fireflies. She smiled back. However, the sweat beading on Irene's forehead and the way she seemed to be swaying on the spot was not exactly an expression of joy.

"Irene...?"

"That was awesome of you Nadiya, really, b-but I don't think I should've eaten that..." Irene's speech seemed slurred.

"What? 

"B-because I'm allergic to peanuts."

"WHAT."

***

Hours and many anxious coffees later, Parson allowed Nadiya into the Fellowship's medical centre. Irene was lying back in one of the narrow beds, responding to emails on her phone. She smiled weakly at Nadiya as she approached. Nadiya did not smile back. 

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Irene looked guilty. She put her phone into her lap. "I'm sorry, Nad."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry, Nadiya." Irene swallowed. "I knew that it meant a lot to you. The whole brownie thing. I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"My-my feelings? Irene, I'm an adult! I can cope with...with being...rejected." Nadiya wrung her hands and sighed, heavily, taking a seat beside the bed. "Why does everything end up like this? Nobody makes sense, ever. Everytime I try to make an attempt at doing anything, I fuck it up somehow." She looked at Irene. "How come it's so easy for you?"

Irene's eyes looked straight into Nadiya's and she felt a little more vulnerable than she wanted to. "I don't know, Nadiya. Why am I bad at science? I just don't think it's my thing." She shrugged. "I ate that brownie because people are what I really care about. You put on that skin patch, even if it could have killed you, right? 'Cause your care about science."

Nadiya nodded.

"Well, by extension, I care about you. And for what it's worth, the brownie really was good."

After a moment, Nadiya let herself relax, and she pulled the tie from her ponytail, feeling tension flood from her neck and scalp. "Ok. Alright. I really do want to try and make this work. Can we...try again?"

Irene leant forward towards Nadiya and grinned. "Of course. After all, I'm gonna have a lot of time doing nothing while I'm recovering. So, Nadiya." Irene clasped her hands together. "Do you like cat videos?"

Nadiya, tentatively, smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> A request from my tumblr @nadinyajones! Go send me stuff on there yo  
> Also sorry if this had issues with it I'm so tired rn


End file.
